PenMar chief to be paid $50,000

February 05, 2009

As PenMar Development Corp.'s new part-time executive director, Doris J. Nipps will be paid $50,000 per year, Nipps said Thursday.

The Herald-Mail was turned down Monday when it asked for Nipps' salary. George Griffin, the chairman of PenMar's board, said it had been the practice under Rich Rook, the previous executive director, to keep the salary private.

However, William Varga, an assistant attorney general in Maryland, said PenMar Development Corp. is subject to the Maryland Public Information Act, so salary information should be public.

Nipps started her job last week, but said PenMar's finance committee didn't finalize her salary with her until Wednesday, which might have led to the initial reluctance to talk about it.

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The executive director position was cut from a full-time job to a part-time job of 20 hours per week when Rook left last month.

Nipps said her compensation also includes life insurance, 80 hours of vacation time and 12 hours of personal time.

The state created PenMar Development Corp. to oversee the redevelopment of the Fort Ritchie Army base, which shut down in 1998.